Barstow's Mayor isn't familiar with his City's General Plan; nor is he a scholar of Native American history or culture

Barstow Mayor Lawrence Dale isn't a local historian nor scholar of Native Americans despite recent representations.

And it appears that Mayor Dale has failed to study and familiarize himself with his city's General Plan too.

Recently Barstow Mayor Lawrence Dale, in his official capacity, has mistakenly written,

"To the contrary, the Barstow General Plan lists 15 tribal groups, including the Cahuilla and Cupeno, as having ties to Barstow…"

Mayor Dale misrepresents the truth for the benefit of Detroit casino syndicators.

First, the Barstow General plan does not provide a list of 15 different tribes that have ancestral claims to the modern-day Barstow area as Dale seems to imply. The General Plan mentions various Native American groups throughout its 54-page technical report on cultural resources management, but in no way does that report indicate each of those tribes had ancestral connections to Barstow.

The Barstow General Plan does, however, recognize that the California Native American Heritage Commission maintains a list of those tribes that have ancestral claims in the Barstow area. The General Plan also acknowledges that the Barstow office of the Bureau of Land Management recognizes four tribes specifically as having ancestral claims in Barstow.

Perhaps Lawrence Dale should familiarize himself with those official lists.

Barstow General Plan/Technical Report
IV.2 Cultural Resources Management Plan
Preface – Native American Concerns
(pages IV.2.6 – IV.2.7)

"Therefore, any project must involve consultation with and involvement from local and regional Native American cultural entities as listed by the Native American Heritage Commission. The local Barstow office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) maintains a listing of representatives of Native American groups who claim an association with the Barstow area; specifically the Serrano, Kaaiisu, Fort Mojave, and Chemehuevi."

Contrary to Mayor Dale’s representations, the Barstow General Plan does not represent that the Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians have ancestral claims in the modern-day Barstow area. The General Plan’s Technical Report section provides a discussion that simply mentions the Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians were believed to have had relationships with the Serrano Indians (San Manuel Tribe). The Serrano are referenced for discussion because they are a Native American group most like the less understood Vanyume Indians who had ancestral lands including modern-day Barstow – but there are no representations that the Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians had ancestral lands in Barstow.

Barstow General Plan/Technical Report
IV.2 Cultural Resources Management Plan
Cultural/Historical Overview - Ethnography
(page IV.2.27)

"Since little is known about the Vanyume, and most existing information, though not universally accepted, suggests certain affinities to the Serrano, relevant behavioral information with applicability to the Vanyume was extrapolated from the Serrano..."

"Coalitions with other Serrano clans were based on reciprocal ceremonial, marital and economic relationships. They also established alliances with similarly organized Cahuilla, Chemehuevi, Gabrielino, and Cupeno (Strong, 1929; Bean, 1972)."

Ironically, that very same section of the Barstow General Plan that mentions relationships between the Serrano and various other Indians, includes the following two references that seem to support representations by the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe that its ancestors included modern-day Barstow among their rightful homelands.

Barstow General Plan/Technical Report
IV.2 Cultural Resources Management Plan
Cultural/Historical Overview - Ethnography
(page IV.2.26 & IV.2.28)

"The Vanyume became extinct through missionization in the 1770s, with the Chemehuevi, Mojave, Serrano, and possibly Chumash moving into their area after contact (Greenwood and McIntyre, 1979:28); Forbes, 1963; and, Barker and Schlanger, 1974)." IV.2.26

"It is reported that during the 17th and 18th centuries, the central portion of the Mojave was abandoned by the Mojave Indians and the area was occupied by the Chemehuevi." IV.2.28

It seems that at the suggestion of those behind Detroit-based casino developer Barwest LLC, Mayor Dale disregards any such claims by the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe or any others; even when those claims are supported by language in his city's General Plan.

What or whom would compel Lawrence Dale to use the office bestowed upon him by the people of Barstow to make the false representations he has made about that city's history and its General Plan documents.